Virtual Processors: Migrating object-clusters unify concurrency and distribution

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Boger, Marko | Wienberg, Frank | Lamersdorf, Winfried^{; *}

Affiliations: Distributed Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Hamburg University, Vogt-Kölln-Strasse 30, 22527 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: boger@informatik.uni-hamburg.de, wienberg@informatik.uni-hamburg.de, lamersd@informatik.uni-hamburg.de

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author.

Abstract: Concurrent and distributed software systems are currently very distinct in their usage and programming. In the case of Java the first requires threads, the latter RMI, CORBA, Voyager etc. However, they are tightly related and often cited in one breath. This paper presents a concept that unifies these two aspects into one. To achieve this the concept of virtual processor, a mechanism to cluster and transparently migrate groups of object, is introduced. It can be used to express concurrency as well as distribution and migration can turn one into the other. As a proof of concept a dialect of Java that implements this concept and some examples are presented.

DOI: 10.3233/ICA-2000-7406

Journal: Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 343-359, 2000